Music: Brighton Festival

The arts festival returns with a host of musical treats

The programme for this year’s Brighton Festival was recently announced at a launch and once again there is an eclectic and interesting line-up of acts. Erased Tapes (11 May) celebrates five years with a showcase performance featuring A Winged Victory For The Sullen, contemporary classical composer Nils Frahm, and indie-electro from British Expeditionary Force. Presented by The Great Escape, spontaneity is the key for Africa Express Sound System (12 May), an astonishing musical collaboration that defies all musical and geographical boundaries.

Camille O’Sullivan (16–17 May) used to be a fixture of The Spiegeltent when it was part of the Fringe Festival, and more recently she has collaborated with the likes of Marianne Faithfull, Martha Wainwright, Beth Orton and Marc Almond. A highly regarded interpreter of dramatic narrative song, Camille transforms each song into an intense theatrical experience.

The mystique that surrounds the very short-lived Joy Division remains enduring and Brighton Festival is host to a couple of events that examines their legacy; The Music And Legacy Of Joy Division (17 May) features photographer Kevin Cummins and journalist Paul Morley discussing the band’s legacy, while Live_Transmission (18 May) sees sound artist, Scanner, and young classical ensemble, Heritage Orchestra, rework the band’s music using the latest sound design and creative technologies.

Like Bon Iver, James Vincent McMorrow (20 May) holed himself up in a remote part of Ireland armed with some basic recording equipment and a stack of literature – the result being the haunting Early In The Morning.

Like Ian Curtis of Joy Division, Sandy Denny’s life was tragically cut short, and in the years since her death, her reputation has been enhanced. This homage (21 May) features Thea Gilmore, Maddy Prior, Joan Wasser (Joan As Police Woman), PP Arnold, members of Bellowhead and Fairport Convention among others.

The Festival also features an exclusive double-header from two of Africa’s brightest talents; Fatoumata Diawara (aka Fatou) is from the Ivory Coast (but of Malian parents) and fuses jazz and blues with traditional Wassoulou while the Congo-born, Belgian-raised hip hop artist Baloji mixes Congolese soukous with reggae beats and his trademark Francophone rap.

Brighton Festival, Sat 5–Sun 27 May 2012, www.brightonfestival.org